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The clean-up work after one of the worst storms to hit the island in recent memory is continuing more than a week after it hit.
In an update issued on Monday, the highways services in the Department of Infrastructure (DoI) confirmed that fresh reports of damage are ‘still coming in’ after Storm Eowyn and that some of its planned works had been put on hold as a result.
Wind speeds of 81mph were recorded at Ronaldsway, the highest speed recorded in 20 years, as the storm battered the Isle of Man on Friday, January 24, prompting a rare red weather warning to be issued.
It was higher at Castletown breakwater with speeds of 94mph and at the top of Snaefell they reached a staggering 107mph.
The violent gusts, which were close to hurricane-force winds, brought down trees, lampposts and event damaged part of Peel power station as it blazed a trail of destruction.
A number of businesses and attractions shut in anticipation of the storm while all flights and ferries to and from the island were cancelled.
At one point, the government confirmed that there more than 30 roads blocked by downed trees, forcing the authority to declare a ‘major incident’ on the island.
A spokesperson for the government at the time urged people not to travel unless it was absolutely necessary, a warning that the DoI says was heeded by the island’s residents.
‘It was noticeable how well everyone heeded the call to minimise movements, which assisted the department’s response greatly,’ it said.
Although the red alert expired, and the major incident was declared over by the evening of Friday, January 24, the DoI says that highways staff’s work continued as fresh reports were submitted.
‘In some cases, problem trees were still in situ when darkness fell,’ added the spokesperson.
‘Where trees were “hung up” it was decided to leave them in place overnight and resume work in daylight when conditions were safer.
‘Several roads remained closed overnight on safety grounds.’
Over the weekend, workers spent the following two days dealing with another 40 weather related incidents on top of the backlog of incidents reported during the storm.
‘These included fallen and destabilised trees, and damage to property,’ the spokesperson added.
‘In addition to the usual on-call provision, many more department staff volunteered their services outside their normal hours of work to deal with the after-effects of the storm.
‘Clear up work continues, with fresh reports of damage caused by Storm Eowyn still coming in.
‘Some scheduled works have had to be put on hold in order to clear the aftermath of the storm.
‘We initially focused on arterial routes, removing fallen branches, sweeping roads and gully clearing.
‘As time goes on the efforts will move to other areas and repairing damage to roads and footpaths.
‘It is likely that some public rights of way may remain impassable due to fallen trees for several days.